Cooking Influences

A God given interest in, a fair talent and great love for cooking along with help from my sister-in-law and 3 women from my first marriage are who and what got me into the kitchen. I started out baking cookies from scratch for church and school bake sales then I started sending cookies and mini cakes as care packages to friends in Viet Nam. They would arrive in crumbled pieces but I was told that they always tasted great. I learned how to cook in general by taking 2 or more cookbooks and comparing matched or similar recipes then taking what I liked from each and creating my own version. I have continued to learn by watching TV cooking shows and now doing all of my research on the computer. My husband even bought me a laptop for my birthday a few years ago so I could have a computer in the kitchen when I cook. My cooking dream is to meet and have Emeril cook for me and to see any of the Food Network shows live.